No matter the subject matter, Heather Smith has a magical ability to make readers cry. I have yet to read one of her stories that doesn’t leave my eyes glistening with tears. In her latest tear jerker Slowpoke The Bell Island Mine Horse illustrated by Genevieve Simms, she takes us back in time to Bell Island off the coast of Newfoundland and down below the earth to the iron ore mines.

Jimmy had to leave school at eleven to head down into the mines to work to support his mother and his sister. His father worked in the mines too until he was killed by a runaway cart. Jimmy is very nervous and lonely down in the mine, until the foreman moves him to a grooming position where he takes care of the mine horses and forms a bond with Slowpoke.

Through the story readers learn more about what life was like in Conception Bay, Newfoundland back in the 1800s and 1900s. Children were sent down into the mines with their fathers and grandfathers to support the family and mine the ore that was sent all over the world to build the first huge skyscrapers that are now synonymous with their home cities. Heather Smith paints such an incredible picture with her words that you almost don’t need illustrations, however, Genevieve Simms illustrations convey the darkness and the loneliness of mining work and help young readers picture the past. Readers will go through a whole range of emotions through this story. Sadness, fear, loneliness and joy all play their part in the life of children so long ago.

For readers interested in history and those learning about it in school, Slowpoke The Bell Island Mine Horse is a fabulous resource and with Heather’s inspiration for the story included at the end, there is much to continue to learn about the mines. Perhaps it may even inspire a trip to The Rock.